DVD of the week

Gosh, clock the jockstraps

Fascist tract or fashionista folly? Frank Miller's graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, in which the Spartans (briefly) held off the massed Persian ranks, is faithfully brought to the screen in this visually adventurous, but substantially vacuous wrestling match of a movie.

Shouty Scotsman Gerard Butler plays a bargain-basement Russell Crowe as Leonidas, leader of a crew of well-oiled, shaven-chested men who choose to do butch battle in various states of undress. In their kinky boots, capes and leather jockstraps, the Spartans look less like an army than a Village People tribute band.

Meanwhile, their fearsome opponent, King Xerxes, appears to have escaped from an early Eighties Visage video, offsetting his collection of marauding warriors, giants and ravenous beasties with a finely chosen line in face paint and body jewellery. Yes, folks, it's historical handbags at dawn, with added gore aplenty.

Hack-attack director Zack Snyder, who directed a respectable remake of Romero's Dawn of the Dead, turns everything up to 11 with this post-Sin City blend of live action and CGI animation. The script is fantastically silly, the performances ripe and ragged, and the overall bludgeoning effect ultimately wearisome.

Still, there are some daftly enjoyable moments to be had along the way, not least the scene in which Persian arrows turn the sky black, forcing the fashion-conscious Sparts to 'fight in the shade'.

Standard dual-disc edition includes film-maker commentary and featurette, while the simultaneously released Blu-ray/HD extras include '300-themed games' and more.